Two More Cases of Hepatitis A Confirmed by Hamilton Township Officials

Two Hamilton residents have tested positive for Hepatitis A. Both ate food from Rosa’s Restaurant in November. A worker at the restaurant tested positive for Hepatitis A that month.

Officials in Hamilton Township confirmed yesterday that two more residents have tested positive for Hepatitis A. A food handler at Rosa’s Restaurant in Hamilton tested positive for Hepatitis A in November.

The Hamilton Township Division of Health was informed of the two Hepatitis A cases over the New Year’s holiday, officials said.

In the first case, an employee of The Hair Port Salon on South Broad Street in Hamilton tested positive for Hepatitis A, has been released from the hospital, and is recovering at home, officials said.

Hamilton Township Health officials say all staff members and patrons who visited the salon from Dec. 4 to Dec. 31 may be at risk for developing Hepatitis A if they have not been previously vaccinated with the Hepatitis A vaccine. Unvaccinated individuals who have visited the salon during that time period should receive an injection of immune globulin or a Hepatitis A vaccine as soon as possible. Unvaccinated Hamilton Township residents should contact their primary care provider or the Hamilton Township Division of Health at (609) 890-3884 for more information. Residents from other communities should contact their primary care provider or their local community health department.

In the second case, the Hamilton Township Division of Health was informed by the New Jersey Department of Health on Jan. 1 that a part-time fitness instructor at the Hamilton Area YMCA JKR Branch on Whitehorse-Mercerville Road tested positive for Hepatitis A. The person is also a fitness instructor at the New Jersey Athletic Club on Quakerbridge Road in Lawrence, and an employee of the Mercer County Board of Social Services on Woolverton Street in Trenton. This fitness instructor is recovering at home.

Hamilton Township Health officials caution that all staff members and patrons who visited the Hamilton YMCA JKR Branch, the New Jersey Athletic Club in Lawrence, or the Mercer County Board of Social Services in Trenton between Dec. 5 and Dec. 29 may be at risk for developing Hepatitis A if they have not been previously vaccinated with the Hepatitis A vaccine.

Health officials determined that in both cases, the individuals had eaten food from Rosa’s Restaurant in November. But officials say they cannot be sure that the two additional cases were a direct result of the Rosa’s case.

Hamilton Health Department officials and personnel will be available by phone today to answer questions from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at (609) 890-3884.

The early signs and symptoms of Hepatitis A appear two to six weeks after exposure and commonly include a mild fever, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, clay-colored stool, fatigue, pain in the upper right side of the abdomen under the rib cage, dark urine, and jaundice. The disease varies in severity, with mild cases lasting two weeks or less and the more severe cases lasting four to six weeks or longer. People with mild symptoms can still be highly infectious. Anyone with symptoms suggestive of Hepatitis A should consult a physician even if symptoms are mild.